'Die Hard' franchise can't be killed off

In 1988, a brash young TV actor, who had smirked and wisecracked his way to stardom on the series "Moonlighting," shocked the movie industry with what many considered an extravagant and unreasonable salary demand.

Although largely untested on the big screen – "Blind Date" and "Sunset" hardly counted – Bruce Willis wanted $5 million to play John McClane in "Die Hard." Studio executives, who had failed to entice almost every other major movie actor in Hollywood to accept the role, eventually caved in to Willis' demands.

It's been 25 years, and no one is complaining about the $5 million anymore, particularly the actor, who has parlayed that first action role into a pretty substantial movie career.

The first four films in the franchise made $435 million at the domestic box office alone, and a fifth – "A Good Day to Die Hard" – opened Thursday.

Willis is back, but he's not looking for trouble (is he ever?) when he heads to Russia to help his wayward son, who has been imprisoned. The son, played by Jai Courtney, turns out to be more than his father assumed, and the father-son duo take on the entire Russian underworld.

To get you in the mood for your first "Die Hard" movie in six years, we thought this might be a good time for a "Die Hard" primer.

Feel free to say it. You know what we mean. That's right – "Yippee-ki-yay."

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'DIE HARD' (1988)

Plot: John McClane, a New York City police officer, flies to Los Angeles to visit his wife at her office Christmas party in a building called Nakatomi Plaza (it is currently a Fox office building on Avenue of the Stars in Century City). No sooner does he arrive at the party than a gang of ruthless European terrorists takes over the building as part of an elaborate heist.

"When you get those feelings, insurance companies go bankrupt." (Powell)

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"Just once, I'd like a regular, normal Christmas." (McClane).

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'DIE HARD: WITH A VENGEANCE' (1995)

Plot: Suspended from his job, McClane is called back to duty when a mad bomber named Simon Gruber requests his presence. Simon forces McClane and a helpful electrician (Samuel L. Jackson) to solve puzzles all over the city under the threat of setting off another bomb. It may be another case of a heist masquerading as an act of terrorism.

"I'm a soldier, not a monster. Even though I sometimes work for monsters." (Simon)

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'LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD' (2007)

Plot: When a cyberterrorist threatens life as we know it, the FBI decides to round up all the usual hackers. Because it's a holiday, there aren't enough federal agents to do all the rounding up, so local police are called in to help. Guess who gets the job of bringing in a particular hacker who is key to the entire world domination plot? That's right: It's John McClane.

"Wow, I know that tone. It's just weird hearing it from someone with hair." (Matt to Lucy McClane)

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"On your tombstone, it should read: 'Always in the wrong place at the wrong time.'" (Gabriel)

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'A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD' (2013)

Plot: John McClane's adult son, who he assumes is pretty much a loser, is inexplicably imprisoned by Russian authorities. McClane flies to Russia to see if he can help, but winds up in the middle of a war between the CIA and the Russian underworld.